This invention relates to vehicle lifting and towing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus of this type having a boom adapted to extend beneath a vehicle and be selectively moved in three planes for readily positioning a lifting assembly at the end thereof for engaging and lifting the undercarriage of a disabled vehicle.
The known apparatus for lifting and towing disabled vehicles includes that of attaching a hook on the end of a cable or the like to a bumper or undercarriage of the vehicle, the cable being carried by a tiltable boom. The boom is first lowered, the cable paid-out and attached to the disabled vehicle, and thereafter the cable is retracted until taut and the boom raised. Variations of this basic apparatus include vehicles which carry a boom positionable beneath a disabled vehicle, the boom carrying a lifting assembly at the free end. The lifting assembly includes a cross-member that spans the undercarriage of the disabled vehicle and carries yokes or the like which receive the axle or other member of the undercarriage of the vehicle. Recently, in regard to automobiles, wheel lift apparatus have been developed for lifting and towing the vehicles by its wheels, a pair of wheel supporting frames being disposed on the end of a boom which is raised to lift the wheels and thus the vehicle Other lifting and towing vehicles include those having a slidable and tiltable flat bed wherein the bed is tilted and slid rearwardly to receive the disabled vehicle and then returned to the flat forward position.
In regard to those systems having a boom positionable beneath the disabled vehicle, these being the systems to which the present invention pertains, the operator must position the boom beneath the disabled vehicle so as to grasp and connect to the axle, a frame member or some other portion of the undercarriage thereof. With many of the present booms, a series of telescoping boom members must be extended and manipulated to position the lifting assembly to the desired location. This process can be challenging and time consuming especially where the disabled vehicle or the like is at an awkward location. This may require, for example, backing up the towing vehicle a number of times and repositioning the boom until the lifting assembly cross-bar is positioned correctly relative to the vehicle to be towed.